Drone’s-eye video view of new Apple HQ takes off

UPDATED: This video shot from a drone flying over the construction site of Apple’s spaceship-shaped headquarters in Cupertino is a big hit on YouTube with more than 2.7 million views.

Jason McMinn, co-founder of Locus Labs of San Francisco, sent his DJI Phantom 2 Quadcopter, equipped with a high-def GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition camera, on an eight-plus-minute flyover on Sunday Aug. 24, when there was no construction going on. There are no workers visible in the video.

People commenting on McMinn’s YouTube page were reminded of “Star Wars:”

– “Looks like a primitive Death Star.”

– “Is it just me or does this look a little like the Millennium Falcon?”

– “Damn, looks like some kind of zombie apocalypse bunker.”

– “How come it isn’t shaped like an apple, wouldn’t that make more sense?”

The flyover shows how the circular foundation and first floor walls are shaping up and how close the site is to the surrounding neighborhood. The architectural renderings Apple previously released made it seem the spaceship would be out in the middle of the woods.

“Seeing it like this with all the homes in close proximity gives a perfect idea of just how massive the construction site is,” one commenter wrote.

The drone completed its mission without problems. Given Apple’s obsession with secrecy, we’re half surprised the company didn’t fire a miniature surface-to-air-missile to shoot it down.

UPDATE: In an e-mail, McMinn said he flew the drone because he appreciates architecture and design. He’s followed the building’s progress since the late CEO Steve Jobs revealed Apple’s plans to the Cupertino council.

“So many buildings today are cheaply built without any thought or design consideration,” he wrote. “Apple’s building is the opposite of that and I respect Apple for building an iconic building.”

He wanted to see how construction was progressing, but was “completely surprised” the video went viral.

“If I would have known it was going to be so popular, I would have taken the time to do more editing,” he wrote. “I uploaded the raw footage because I didn’t think anyone would care that much.”